4 ms·
It would be interesting to see data on the types and distribution of degrees that are being laid off. The article does suggest a certain trend: "In many ways,
by tsally 18y ago
It would be interesting to see data on the types and distribution of degrees that are being laid off. The article does suggest a certain trend:
"In many ways, this recession resembles the deep downturn that began in 1989, “which was really the first white-collar-driven recession,” Mr. Hughes said. Then, too, there was a broad decline in employment in finance and related professions like law and accounting, he said."
If the same thing is happening now as well, perhaps there are better ways to optimize business, even when not in recession?
- TomOfTTB 18y agoI agree. I’d like to see what people we are specifically talking about here. I think there’s a fallacy out there that having a high level degree means you’re an educated person but in my experience that often isn’t the case. A lot of people who have MBAs retained very little of the actual curriculum in school. This is why companies tend to cut middle managers in a downturn. Because they are essentially unskilled skilled workers in that they got an education but failed to retain the skill. The examples given in the article (a manager at a marketing firm and an editorial assistant) seem to fall in that category.
- spaghetti 18y agoIn my experience there's an inverse correlation for high level education (MS, PhD) and being smart, productive, etc. My approach was finish undergrad and then take my "education" into my own hands. It's worked well.
- queensnake 18y agoAre the PhDs you know in the sciences? The ones I've met, even the bottom rank, are at least solidly smart.
- spaghetti 18y agoYes, in the sciences. In my experience I've noticed PhD comes along with a certain lack of emotional maturity... which plays out in various negative ways (overly emotional technical debates, focused more on blaming people for problems rather than pursuing the simplest solution and so on).
- donaq 18y agoI wonder if it could possibly have escaped your notice that Donald Knuth, Djikstra, Peter Norvig, Larry Page, Sergei Brin, Linus Torvalds and Guido Van Rossum all possess Masters degrees and above. And these are only luminaries in the field of computer science. It seems to me that the smartest and most productive people on the planet tend to have undergone higher education. I can only conclude that your experience with Masters and PhDs has been strangely skewed.
- dawson 18y ago"I think there’s a fallacy out there that having a high level degree means you’re an educated person" Having a high level degree degree does mean you're an educated person, however, there is a difference between being book smart, and smart.
- TomOfTTB 18y agoI think you missed my point. I'm saying these people aren't even book smart. They attended classes, studied for tests, passed the tests and then proceeded to forget the information. Meaning they aren't educated people or book smart.